Second half spells doom for Wolves

The Lincolnton Wolves knew that going to South Point to play the defending 3A State Champions wouldnâ€™t be easy.
But in the first half it didnâ€™t look to difficult for the Wolves. Lincolnton was able to milk eight minutes off the clock as part of a 16-play 75-yard scoring drive.
The drive was culminated by a five-yard touchdown run by Dusty Friday that cut the Red Raidersâ€™ lead to 14-7 at halftime.
In the second half the Wolves were able to get the ball back after recording an interception. However, unfortunately for the Wolvesâ€™ faithful the ensuing offensive possession netted no points.
When Andrew Rinehart and the Red Raidersâ€™ offense got the ball back he wasted no time connecting with David McMillan for a 60-yard pass on third and 13. Wolvesâ€™ head coach Scott Cloninger believed that play took a lot of momentum away from his team.
“First half we played well enough to be in the
game. We had an opportunity to tie the game up down
14-7. That deep pass hurt us emotionally. Anytime, you`re
within one touchdown you know you`re still in the
game, when it got to be 21-7 they stepped it up and we
flattened out a little bit,” he said.
South Point never looked back holding the Wolves to less than 100 yards in the second half.
Despite not scoring in the second stanza, Cloninger was proud of his teamâ€™s effort.
“We didn`t quit. The kids played hard and the one
thing I truly believe is, the score may not indicate
it but, we improved from last week in a lot of areas,” he said.
Freshman wingback Brandon Spencer led South Point with over 125 yards on six carries. Fullback Bryan Jennings scored four touchdowns for the Red Raiders.
The loss drops the Wolves to 2-2 on the season as they head into a rivalry game against the West Lincoln Rebels.
Cloninger believes his team will be ready especially since they enjoy an open week this week.
“That`s all we want to do is improve each week and the bye week is coming at a very good time for us. These
next two weeks we`re going to work as hard as we can and try to get ready for a very good West Lincoln team,” he said.